1. Preheat oven to 200°C or 180°C fan. Lightly grease two baking trays.

2. To make choux pastry, combine butter, sugar and ½ teaspoon salt with 1 cup water in a medium saucepan. Bring to boil on medium heat. Stir in flour. Cook, stirring constantly, until pastry comes away from sides of pan.

3. Transfer to a large bowl and cool slightly. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition, until mixture is shiny and smooth.

4. Using a pastry bag and a plain 1cm nozzle, pipe 8cm-long, 2cm-wide eclairs onto prepared trays, leaving space between for spreading. Bake for 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 190°C or 170°C fan and bake for another 10 minutes, until golden brown and crisp. Cool on a wire rack.

5. To make coffee glacé icing, place icing sugar in a small heatproof bowl. Gradually add enough coffee to moisten, stirring until smooth. Place bowl over a pan of simmering water on low heat. Stir for 3 minutes, until icing is glossy and smooth. Add more coffee, if needed.

6. Split eclairs and fill with whipped cream. Spoon icing over top and stand for 5-10 minutes, until icing sets. Serve.

Tip: uncooked eclairs can be made ahead of time and frozen on trays, then packed into freezer bags. Thaw before baking in the same way as fresh.